external symptoms
- Fish have a red spot in the swim bladder area.
Behave
- Fish have imbalances.
- Fish swim jerkily, often just above the bottom.
- Fish hang belly up in the water.
What is the swim bladder anyway
Not all fish have a swim bladder
Many fish that mainly live on the bottom do not have a swim bladder, eg flatfish, moray eels, catfish, loaches. On the other hand, the river catfish, also called river catfish catfish, has a one-piece and even large swim bladder, although it is also a bottom fish.
Eels and pike also have swim bladders, although they’re not the classic fish that swim around all the time. Fish without a swim bladder are more of an exception.
Among the saltwater fish there are also fish with a swim bladder and fish without a swim bladder. Sharks, for example, compensate for their «overweight» with a very large liver. The fat stored in it (= cod liver oil) causes the necessary buoyancy.
videos
Neon with swim bladder problems (cause unknown – shortly after the video the neon tetra died)
The fish died shortly after the picture was taken.
Dead carbuncle tetra with swim bladder infection
Reinhold Weinberger has provided two films of the carbuncle tetra pictured above:
Reinhold WeinbergerSwim bladder01
Reinhold WeinbergerSwim bladder02
A film by Rico Zschau shows a dwarf gourami with swim bladder problems:
Dwarf Gourami_Swim Bladder
causes
If the above symptoms only occur sporadically and disappear again after a short time, it is not a problem with the swim bladder. The affected fish probably swallowed air. This occurs in some fish species, e.g. B. Red tetras, often after feeding with flake food. Too much air is taken in when they greedily snap at the food flakes floating on the water surface. For some time the fish have too much buoyancy, which they fight against by jerky swimming. The problem does not arise if the food flakes are held below the surface of the water so that they immediately absorb water and sink. The fish then do not eat the flakes on the water surface but in the middle and lower water layers.
Swim bladder problems usually appear suddenly in previously healthy fish stocks. Almost always only individual animals are affected. The exact causes of swim bladder problems are not clear. One possible cause is sudden temperature changes. But other causes, such as bacterial infections, are also possible. Parasites are the cause of velvet disease, which often causes infested fish to sink to the bottom. More rarely, roundworms (nematodes) or sporozoa are the cause. Another possible cause is gas oversaturation after a water change.
In tetras, symptoms similar to those associated with swim bladder problems appear to appear as a sign of aging. The caudal fin constantly sags and has to be lifted again with muscle power. In these cases, no cure is possible. Affected fish can live for a long time until they are so weak that they can no longer exert the necessary effort.
treatment suggestions
Affected fish should be transferred to an aquarium or other container with shallow water if possible. The water should be about 13 cm deep. Especially in the case of a swim bladder infection due to low temperatures, a slow temperature increase of 2 to 5 degrees can help to heal. The extent of the temperature increase depends on the respective fish species. This must be able to withstand the corresponding temperature. In some cases, adding about 1 gram of salt per liter of water also helps. Of course, it is a prerequisite that the fish species tolerate this addition of salt. Additionally or alternatively, treatment with antibacterial remedies can help.
No products found.
Swim bladder problems are often not curable despite the use of medication. Affected fish that are severely affected or can no longer eat should be killed gently. The films show the exertion with which the tetra tries to fight against sinking to the ground. Such exertion can only be sustained in the short term.